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RAW RAW on 05/06/99 opened with the Corporate Ministry coming out for
the big interview segment. Boy, that Undertaker and Shane are so
stupid. Here's why. Vince was going to turn over a majority share in
the WWF to the Undertaker for the return of Stephanie. Undertaker
could have ruled the company, but instead screwed up the whole deal by
having his black wedding and losing Stephanie to Steve Austin. Now,
Undertaker finds himself a flunky of Shane. Sure, the story line
elements suggest that they were in cahoots all along. That's why
Undertaker is stupid. He could have been in charge of the company, but
instead he's a flunky. Now, Shane is stupid because he collaborated
with Undertaker and let Undertaker get into a position where he could
have taken the majority interest in the WWF. Shane could have lost
exactly what he's trying to steal from his dad. Maybe Shane was just
relying on the stupidity of the Undertaker. I dunno. All I know is
that based on e-mail flames, this is apparently a great (wrestling)
story line that I'm just not getting. They hyped the next PPV, Over
the Edge, which has Hunter Hearst Helmlsey vs. Rocky Maivia and
Undertaker vs. Steve Austin. Anybody want to bet that both matches are
mostly garbage wrestling? Anybody want to bet that the usual cast of
characters orgasms at how great the garbage wrestling is? Anyhow,
Shane called out Vince because his master plan, the last piece of the
puzzle, was going to be put in place this evening. Well, that took 11
minutes. Then Mankind & Ken Shamrock & Big Slow Paul Wight & Test came
out for a Jim Duggan tribute. Thankfully, Mankind did the microphone
work, so it was good. Mankind said that that these guys had a Union,
that they were People that Shane OUght to Respect, leading to their
stupid slogan "UP YOURS." They cleared the ring. Test? Test? Test?
They're gonna try to elevate Test? They call themselves the Union.
Billy Gunn faced X-Pac. Gunn's new entrance music reeks; I'm not sure
if that was done on purpose to get him heel heat, but if that was the
case it doesn't seem to be working. The crowd was dead quiet for the
guy now that he doesn't tell us that we can suck it if we aren't down
with DX. This is a man in need of a new catchphrase. The commentators
called him Billy Gunn and "Mr. Ass" interchangeably. X-Pac pulled a
good match out of Gunn. We better enjoy it, because that might be the
last one we get from Gunn for another year or so. Lawler had the nerve
to suggest that Gunn could be the best superstar ever in the WWF. Gunn
did a face-first flop. X-Pac was great near the end of the match. Man,
that guy can work. And to do so in his physical condition, where a bad
bump is such a risk. Mr. Ass kicked Mr. X in Mr. Happy and got the pin
with the famouser at 5:00. Road Dogg came in the ring to trade blows
with Gunn. Just last week, Dogg was encouraging Gunn to show his ass
to the world, and now they've come to this. Sigh. Kane lumbered out.
Time stood still in the ring. Gunn had chaired Dogg. He should have
chaired Gunn & X-Pac a dozen times instead of waiting for Kane to
lumber in. Why do guys always stop and stare when Kane or Undertaker
lumbers out? They've got a good few minutes to do whatever they want.
Apparently, that 15:00 opening interview wasn't long enough, so the
Corporate Ministry trotted out again. Jim Ross kept calling Shane
McMahon "the Boy Wonder," which just seemed wrong. Shane announced a
four corners match with Boss Man & Viscera & Midian & Test. Oh god,
that should be just awesome! In a hardcore match, Mankind would face
both Acolytes. And HHH would face Ken Shamrock with Chyna as referee.
"The Mean Street Posse" would face Pat Patterson & Jerry Brisco,
Undertaker would face Big Slow. And finally, for no apparent reason
other than his "personal enjoyment," Sable would face Debra in an
evening gown match. After some more banter, Shane added Rock vs. Steve
Austin in a lumberjack match featuring the Corporate Ministry as the
lumberjacks. This was over the top. Speaking of which, Vince McMahon
strolled out, looking at times like he had just bit into a lemon.
Stephanie & Linda McMahon strolled out as well, accompanied by the
cops, who would surely arrest Undertaker for kidnapping. Rather late
than never. Vince & Shane traded barbs, with Shane saying that he
wanted his father's ass. Hey, don't be lewd. Vince asked Linda to talk
to their demon seed, but Shane told her to shut up. It ended with
Vince & the women & the cops walking off - what, no kidnapping charge?
Sigh. Shane then crowed that he was the mastermind behind Stephanie's
kidnapping, that he was the flunky that put Undertaker in the position
of possibly taking control of the company that Shane himself wants
control of. That made me think "mastermind." Vince acted like the
revelations were a surprise, stormed the ring, and got beat up. This
led to Vince agreeing to face Shane in the ring tonight. When Vince
agree with a "you're damn right!", it sounded like Mankind's taped "I
quit!" Very weird. Can you believe that this ran 11 minutes? But it
set up a whole slew of great matches, right?
With that stage set, leches had one reason to watch, fans of this
story line had reasons to watch, fans of slugs had a great four
corners match in store for them, fans of nonwrestlers had a couple of
matches worth watching, but fans of great wrestling were scratching
their heads.
The McMahon women pleaded with Vince not to fight Shane, but Vince
said he was going to kick his son's ass.
The Mean Street Posse faced Pat Patterson & Jerry Brisco. The Posse
actually cut a promo before the match. Lord. They wore their yuppie
outfits. The stooges came out in their suits. Patterson & Brisco
finally got some rehab. No more acting like morons. They beat the crap
out of the Posse. The referee raised their hands for no apparent
reason at 1:27, with no bell ringing. The Corporate Ministry didn't
even surface to support their goons.
Test & Viscera & Boss Man & Midian had a four corners match. Boss Man
apparently doesn't hold a grudge if you hang him. Shane's guys didn't
let Test tag out. Match was horrible. Finish saw Midian hold Test as
Boss Man was readying the night stick shot. Everybody knew he'd miss.
Bingo, Test then kicked Boss Man, elbowed Viscera, and then covered
the night-sticked Midian for the three count at 3:39. Boy, that Shane
sure is a mastermind, siding with losers like this and putting
together matches that favour his squads but that his squads lose.
Afterwards, they laid into Test, with the Union coming in for the
save. Apparently, the Union's theme song is the same as Big Slow's.
And Big Slow didn't mind saving Test after kicking his ass last week.
Vince McMahon faced Shane McMahon. Shane talked for minutes before
Vince came staggering out. Although it didn't air in Canada, I guess
Vince got pummelled by the Corporate Ministry. Poor Shane beat the tar
out of his dad for 90 seconds before Vince hit a stunner on him for
the pin at 1:47. The crowd popped huge. Wrestling without wrestlers.
Man, this sucks. Shane said it's far from over. Damn. You know, I'm
sure to get a dozen e-mails telling me that this was great story line
stuff or some that point out that this segment beat whatever was on
Nitro in the same time slot (which will surely be the case), but none
of that makes it good wrestling.
Hey, back from a commercial, we saw Vince get beat up by Undertaker
and company. So, Undertaker is Shane's flunky instead of running the
company like he could be. Maybe he'll eventually use his mojo on Shane
to help bring the family back together.
Mankind faced Faarooq & Justin Bradshaw in a handicap hardcore match.
Since this was a hardcore match, it had to be awesome. That's what my
incoming e-mail suggests. Mankind managed to do alright on his own,
but the match was bad. Hey, at least we got some more low blows, so we
were averaging more than one per match at this point. Mankind DDTed
Bradshaw on a trash can. Faarooq saved. Finish saw a double powerbomb
on some standing chairs with the Acolytes getting the win over Mankind
at 5:40. Well, they had to try to get these slugs over somehow, didn't
they?
Ken Shamrock faced HHH. This was the one chance for a wrestling match
on this show. For someone with the push that he's received, HHH sure
hasn't delivered (m)any good matches; he's so damn mediocre. Match was
okay. Guess what, Chyna hit a low blow on Shamrock, setting up the
pedigree win at 7:34.
Big Slug Paul Wight faced Undertaker. What a barnburner! A real
slobberknocker! They locked up into a...a...a...a bearhug for a
minute! Oh man, I was marking out. Whose power would rule the day? The
superhuman strength of the giant-sized behemoth? Or the supernatural
strength of the demonic lord of darkness? Oh wait, Undertaker isn't
supernatural after all; he's just Mark Callaway playing a role...they
told us so. But somehow he can still make the lights go out and scare
people. Do I have to talk about this match? Well, no, 'cause I'm
writing this text. This week, the ring crew cleaned up their act - no
hockey sticks, tables, frying pans, or cookie sheets under the ring,
no, just an old fashioned baseball bat that is obviously used in the
ring set-up phasing during the...oh, well, we don't need to get into
those details. The bat was passed into Undertaker, who used it on
Wight's head just after Big Slow sliced his scalp with his blade.
"He's the Big Slow! You can see him blade, oh!" The referee called for
the DQ at 2:45, either that or he wanted this pairing to have a hope
of being a PPV drawing card at some point. The bat deal was a bit
funny because Mankind had looked under the ring several times during
his hardcore handicap match, but could only find a box full of
styrofoam popcorn. I think they should have accidentally switched
objects. Mankind could whack Bradshaw with the bat, and Bradshaw could
no-sell it, 'cause he doesn't sell anything. And Undertaker could have
whacked Big Slow with the box of popcorn, with Big Slow bleeding as a
result. That would have been cool.
Debra faced Sable in an evening gown match. Keep dreaming. Shane is a
heel and Sable is a heel, so in total heelish fashion the
bimbo-exploiting match promised by one heel involving the other heel
didn't take place. Man, I hate those heels. But, Debra, she's a heel
that we should cheer, so when Nicole Bass came out to challenge her in
Sable's place, Debra just disrobed to forfeit the match. Debra could
have just walked off to forfeit the match, but, being a trooper, she
decided to strip to her bra and panties. Now, maybe I'm remembering
things incorrectly, but I'm sure that Jerry Lawler was excited about
this match because the loser would be the first woman stripped to her
panties, not bra and panties. So, technically, Debra didn't forfeit
the match because she left her bra on. So, while the official decision
was a win for Bass in 12 seconds, I would question that result. Call
me a stickler for the rules.
Rocky Maivia faced Steve Austin in a lumberjack match. Keep dreaming.
This was all a ruse to get the Rock & Austin in the ring surrounded by
the Corporate Ministry. Match ended in 22 seconds, as the lumberjacks
freely entered the ring and attacked Austin & Rock. They garbaged it
up a bit, with Austin & Rock getting dumped off the stage. Wow, what
entertainment.
At the end of this show, I looked back and wondered exactly what the
"master plan, the last piece of the puzzle" was. I guess it was that
Shane had been involved with Undertaker from the start.
Tally time: 28:26 of bell-to-bell wrestling.
Nitro Nitro on 05/03/99 aired in full on Wednesday afternoon on TSN in
Canada. The show opened with clips from last week. Are they trying to
suggest that WCW's programming has some continuity? I'll believe it
when I see it. After all, that's a big difference between WCW and the
WWF, isn't it? Both promotions deliver story lines with holes that can
be ripped open by critics, but WCW sure is holier. Oh, you know what I
mean.
As we faded from the Nitro Girls to the commentary desk, Tony informed
us that Ric Flair & Roddy Piper will battle for control of WCW at
Slamboree. Why would Flair fight a twice-fired guy for that position?
Enough of that, it was one minute since we saw the Nitro Girls, so we
had to jump into footage of Gorgeous George training. Boy, Madusa sure
is making her difference. The commentators also talked mentioned Randy
Savage; you know, he's the guy that isn't reinstated but somehow still
managed to wrestle on television on both weekday shows last week. Oh,
I know that the twice-fired Piper reinstated Savage before being fired
the second time, but if he's reinstated why is there a match at the
PPV to decide whether he gets reinstated. Oh, I know that the PPV
match might just drop that stipulation, but all of this junk still
merits questioning because it is hopelessly confusing. It's a mess,
but ther's usually a great match on the show. And, hey, at some point
in time, maybe they'll get some focus.
This episode of Nitro came to us from Charlotte, so the crowd was
rabid for Flair. I was hoping for a rehabilitating interview. But the
show opened with Flair & Arn Anderson (double A) & a big-breasted
nurse (double D) driving to the show. Beside them was a van carrying
the crew from the mental hospital, with the final camera shot
suggesting that Scott Hall was in the front seat. Okay, maybe that was
the only time they'd continue this stupid story line. No, after the
first commercial break they showed a summary of the Flair story line.
It was embarrassing to be a wrestling fan. Flair may well have been
hilarious, but it was just so stupid and humiliating.
First match saw Scott Armstrong & Steve Armstrong, hot off their major
upset squeaker win over a single wrestler in Raven last week, face the
tag team champions, Rey Misterio Jr. & Billy Kidman. They pretended
that there's continuity in WCW by showing the Armstrongs winning that
match last week. The commentators reminded us of how stupid the
upcoming PPV tag title match is, that the champs can lose the titles
without losing. Match was nothing special at all, with the champs
winning after Kidman rolled through a powerbomb attempt to hit a
facecrusher and then set up Rey for a frankensteiner at 4:07. Chris
Benoit & Dean Malenko ran in to attack the champs. Perry Saturn &
Raven ran in for the save, but, no, they ended up getting into a
shoving match with the champs. The Horsemen came back in. It ended
with the Horsemen standing and everybody else laying, with the fans
loving it. If I ever move to the US, I've got to consider Charlotte as
a possibility. While I don't particularly care for the triangle
format, this PPV match will rule.
As the first hour of Nitro dragged through the halfway mark, we had
our second match: Buff Bagwell vs. Ernest Miller. Now, Cat drew great
heat at the TV taping I went to in Kitchener, Ontario, but I can't
really handle his act because he doesn't have much ability. He should
go hardcore. That's an idea...let the guys with ability wrestle and
let all the others be hardcore, and never the twain shall meet. Buff's
theme music rivals the Big Slow Paul Wight's or Mr. Ass Billy Gunn's.
The question is, now that he's back from his injury, will Buff Bagwell
ever deliver another good match, or will he follow in the heels of
Steve Austin and Masa Chono and the other injured guys who lost their
work/workrate and could only be entertaining in garbage wrestling
matches? In this match, they tried to wrestle. It was boring and long
and boring and long. It had the same ending as every other Miller
match: Onno kicked Miller by accident and his opponent got the win; in
this case, Buff hit a blockbuster for the pin at 8:45. The continuity
is great. Onno has been accidentally kicking Miller for months and
Miller has pushed him or chased him, but Miller always comes out with
Onno at the next show. When you think about it, that's a great example
for all relationships: you've got to work at them even during the
bumpy periods. Sigh, what crap. Speaking of which, during Smackdown
last week, they aired a WCW commercial. This woman is watching TV,
flipping channels. See, it's already a joke: women don't channel surf.
She feels pains in her neck and back and keeps flipping. Oh wait,
there's a voodoo doll and, later, a Kevin Nash doll sticking pins in
the woman's voodoo doll. Ha ha. When she gets on WCW programming it
stops. I figured everything was out of order. She should have flipped
on the WCW programming to have the Kevin Nash doll stick needles into
her. That's what it feels like to me sometimes.
As hour one came to an end, Ric Flair arrived at the building. He came
to the ring with Little Nature Boy Charles Robinson, double A, double
D, and double J (JJ Dillon). The mental hospital patients, no Scott
Hall in sight, entered the building with Flair, but got sidetracked in
the backstage area. Flair called Randy Savage, Gorgeous George,
Diamond Dallas Page, Sting, and Goldberg to the ring after first
announcing that he had booked himself in a title match against DDP
this night and that he had fired Randy Savage. A commercial was
inserted, but first Randy Savage and six breasts headed out of a
locker room. Let's see. As we hit the opening of RAW, fans were faced
with seeing Flair confront Savage and the breasts or checking out
RAW's opening. Sigh. Back from the commercial, Savage came out. Was he
alone? It seemed that way, but, no, the breasts came rolling out. Poor
Madusa was wearing this horrible skirt that she kept adjusting.
George's breasts were on display a la WWF's Debra. Flair called in the
security, telling them to take everybody but George away. Flair
grabbed George, who struggled, with her bosom arched to the ceiling.
Security carted the rest off. George & Little Nature Boy had a
confrontation. George knocked Little Nature Boy over, adjusted her
bra, and then was choked out by double D. Gene gave his jacket to
George so she could cover herself, drawing a chorus of boos. With the
ring cleared of Randy Savage and his breasty entourage, Sting &
Goldberg came out. Sting punched Flair, who bumped. Goldberg punched
Flair, who bumped. I was waiting for Gene Okerlund to punch Flair for
a bump. Sting & Goldberg tussled in a pretty lame scene, pulled apart
by security, with the crowd booing a bit. That was supposed to make us
want to order the PPV, you see. If Flair were to win the title
tonight, he'd fight Kevin Nash for the title at Slamboree, while also
having to fight the fired Roddy Piper for control of the company.
Ric Flair talked to Stevie Ray, telling him that he could earn $100K
if he could take out Kevin Nash. There's a match we've been waiting to
see. An onscreen graphic told us that the next bout was a hardcore
match, which of course meant that guys with limited talent would be
coming out. This time around, Hardcore Hak faced Bam Bam Bigelow. Hak
loaded up the ring with a ladder and a couple of tables. Poor Bigelow,
being sucked into this crappy stuff that really should be the domain
of Hak, Horace, and Nobbs and the like. Bammer came out with loads of
junk in a dumpster, including the requisite surge cooler. Hak hit
Bigelow with a trash can that really didn't hurt him; I guess Bigelow
is smarter than I thought, 'cause he clearly hasn't listened to Tony
Schiavone's commentary, since he sold the garbage can shots. My
problem with this hardcore garbage wrestling crap is that it requires
no skill. That's true whether Hak & Bigelow do it or whether Austin &
Rock do it. Austin & Rock are just more over because of positioning
and characterization, so they draw heat when they do it; it still
doesn't make it something that requires skill. If the average crazy
guy can duplicate it, it just doesn't seem worth praising to me. The
average guy has no hope of duplicating a match that Chris Benoit has,
for example. The skill that Benoit has developed does deserve praise.
You notice how those backyard wrestling clowns do all of the crap that
we see in the garbage wrestling matches? It requires no skill. You
don't see those kids imitating Chris Benoit because they can't. They'd
have to work at it, and kids (and everyone else, it seems) want
instant gratification and success. Okay, my sermon is done and the
damn match is still on. As much as it pains me, I'm reminded of the
fact that these two managed to avoid one of the most annoying aspects
of the current hardcore trend when they had their PPV match: they
managed to switch locations without merely walking from one place to
another in a headlock spot or a hair pull spot. They faked a struggle,
etc. I'm still bristling from the Bob Holly vs. Al Snow PPV match last
week where they walked all over the place. Man, that sucks. Oh lord, a
commercial break. "We'll be back with more of this." Ugh. Don't you
hope sometimes when you're watching a horrible match that you'll wake
up and find that it's a dream? That Chris Benoit is world champion?
That audiences actually respect skill and ability?
Back from the commercial, Brian Nobbs came out. He has a match against
Bammer at the PPV. He interfered. Everything got worse than before.
This was supposed to make us care. There was no decision. Match time
was 13:45. Really, is Austin any better than Hak these days? Austin
has more charisma and a stronger position in his company, but as far
as what they deliver in the ring, it seems pretty much the same to me.
At best, they've got a handful of moves apiece, with some bump taking
(with Hak being crazier in that department) and loads of garbage. And,
hell, Austin even stole Sandman's beer drinking gimmick.
Backstage, Stevie Ray told the Black & White NWO that Flair offered
them $50K to take out Nash. That was actually funny. Mental patient
triple A overheard the whole thing while in a washroom stall (why do
the NWOers have their locker room adjoined to a public washroom?). I
guessed triple A would spill the beans.
Back from the commercial, triple A spilled the beans to Kevin Nash.
Konnan faced Horace Hogan. Oh lord. Match was bad. Finish saw Konnan
hit the tequila sunrise on Horace, with the NWO black & white running
in. Kevin Nash made the save. Match time was 8:08. Konnan will face
Stevie Ray at Slamboree. What a great match that will be! Ric Flair
bumped into his son David, telling him that he appreciated that he
tried to help Ric. He ended up booking David vs. Meng for later in the
show. David was accompanied by Tori Wilson, who we hadn't seen in a
while. Flair told Robinson to go tell Meng that David said he (Meng)
couldn't go. This was actually pretty funny.
After a commercial, Roddy Piper rolled up in a limo. The commentators
could see some backstage things (cars arriving) but not others (the
whole "get Nash" deal). Argh. Piper ended up attacking Ric Flair. This
was supposed to make us want to order the PPV. Poor Flair. Flair asked
Scott Steiner to handle Nash for him. They announced a press
conference involving Lex Luger & Elizabeth, but the fake static killed
it before it began. Okay.
Steiner bumped into Buff Bagwell backstage and beat him up a bit. Meng
faced David Flair. David can't do anything, so this match was bad.
They traded chops. Meng dominated. David looked scared. Meng got the
death grip on David. Match ran a mercifully short 3:25. Afterwards,
Ric Flair came out to check on David, order a stretcher, and berate
Tori & David with a "send me away again!" taunt. The crowd still
seemed to refuse to turn on Flair.
Curt Hennig faced Booker T for the TV Title. Gee, I was expecting
Stevie Ray to show up again. WCW has continuity: witness a clip from
Thunder, where Ray slapjacked Hennig to screw him in a TV Title match
last week. This time around, they started out okay, actually giving me
hope that this might turn into the good match of the week. But, no,
that fruit booty Stevie Ray showed up to interfere at 2:36. Rick
Steiner, who faces Booker T at the PPV and who is supposed to turn
heel shortly, surfaced to attack Booker T a bit.
Ric Flair challenged Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW Title. Flair came
out first; he does that whether he's challenger or champion. Match was
okay. Last time around, Page managed to pull a good match out of
himself and bring Sting along for the ride; strangely, I've had e-mail
from people crediting Sting for that match. This time around, the
match didn't have that extra element. It was still cool to see all of
Flair's "patented" offence work at the end. How long as it been since
he's done a successful Flair flip into a double axehandle? Anyhow,
Flair hit the figure four, but Randy Savage & Gorgeous George stormed
the ring. George pulled Flair's hair, almost losing her top in the
process. It was actually comedic to see her halfheartedly pulling his
hair with one hand while protecting the breasts with the other. For
some reason, this didn't get a DQ like all of the other run ins of the
night. Somehow, in the mix, DDP ended up with a foreign object (or as
Lobsterman says, "I don't use no foreign objects. All of my objects
are made in America."). Whack on Flair, followed by a pin counted by
Scott Dickenson (Robinson was the original ref for the match). Sigh.
Match ran 13:19.
This was just such a bad show. I can't imagine that anybody watching
this show would suddenly decide to order Slamboree. It almost seemed
designed to minimize orders.
Tally time: 54:05 of bell-to-bell action. There was still more
wrestling than RAW, but there were no highs for me.
- WCW has Slamboree on PPV on 05/09/99. Tentative line-up has
* Diamond Dallas Page vs. Kevin Nash for the WCW Title
* Ric Flair vs. Roddy Piper for the presidency of WCW
* Perry Saturn & Raven vs. Rey Misterio Jr. & Billy Kidman vs. Chris
Benoit & Dean Malenko for the WCW Tag Titles
* Gorgeous George vs. Charles Robinson to determine whether Randy
Savage gets reinstated
* Booker T vs. Rick Steiner for the TV Title
* Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Brian Nobbs
* Buff Bagwell vs. Scott Steiner
- The WWF has Over The Edge on 05/23/99. Tentative line-up has
* Undertaker vs. Steve Austin
* Rocky Maivia vs. Hunter Hearst Helmlsey
- It's expected that Steve Williams, who still needs to get his
release from the WWF, will look to get his job back with All Japan.
- I'm sorry that I didn't find the time to write up a retrospective on
Rick Rude, who passed away on 04/20/99. Although the Observer reports
that the cause of death is pending, one local newspaper report
incredibly blamed his death on cancer. That doesn't fit the details
which are widely available.
- While there had been reports that ECW had received clearance from
Viewer's Choice Canada, that doesn't seem to be the case, as the May
PPV is not available on VCC. If somebody can offer me a tape of the
show (hopefully an original copy...so I'm looking for somebody with
two VCR decks), contact me in advance in e-mail and we'll work out a
deal.
- There was a story (with a picture of Goldberg pinning Scott Hall) in
the Toronto Star reporting that WCW is going to release "WCW Monday
Nitro" cologne. The promotion has struck a deal with Perfumemania to
release a full line of products, from perfume to soap to air
fresheners.
- The annual Top of the Super Junior tournament in New Japan starts on
05/19/99.
- PPV buy rates, revenue (in millions), and match statistics for the
WWF, WCW, and ECW are presented in the following 1998 summary sheet
(the PPV draw(s) are listed, as well as the quality matches):
Show Data Match Rating Data
Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * *
WWF
99/03/28: WrestleMania
Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia 2.3 $12.04 1.13 * 1/4 * * * 1/2
Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia 0.0%
(0 of 9, no shoot)
99/02/14: St. Valentine's Day Massacre
Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon
Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia 1.2 $5.33 1.28 * 1/4 * * * 3/4
Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia 0.0%
(0 of 8)
99/01/24: Royal Rumble
Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia
Royal Rumble 1.57 $6.97 1.83 * 1/2 * * * 3/4
Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia 0.0%
(0 of 6)
Last 6 1.37 $6.38 1.33 1.25 3.46 0.0%
(0 of 54)
1999 1.69 $8.11 1.37 1.33 3.67 0.0%
(0 of 23)
1998 1.02 $4.42 1.60 1.63 3.65 4.0%
(4 of 101)
Show Data Match Rating Data
Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * *
WCW
99/04/11: Spring Stampede
Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan vs. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Sting 2.31 * *
1/2 * * * * 1/4
Juventud Guerrera vs. Blitzkrieg 11.1%
(1 of 9)
99/03/14: Uncensored
Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan 0.73 $3.48 1.83 * * * * * 1/2
Billy Kidman vs. Mikey Whippreck 0%
(0 of 9)
99/02/21: SuperBrawl
Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan 1.1 $5.27 1.89 * * 1/2 * * * 1/4
Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Kevin Nash
Scott Steiner vs. Diamond Dallas Page 0%
(0 of 9)
99/01/17: Souled Out
Bill Goldberg vs. Scott Hall
Ric Flair & David Flair vs. Curt Hennig & Barry Windham 0.78 $3.64
1.83 * 1/2 * * * *
Billy Kidman vs. Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera vs. Psicosis
11.1%
(1 of 9)
Last 6 0.85 $3.91 1.67 1.92 3.71 3.6%
(2 of 55)
1999 0.87 $4.13 1.85 2 3.583 3.7%
(1 of 27)
1998 0.93 $3.96 1.54 1.73 3.73 4.5%
(5 of 111)
Show Data Match Rating Data
Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * *
ECW
99/01/10: Guilty As Charged
Shane Douglas vs. Taz 0.2 $0.42 1.68 * * 1/2 * * * 1/2
Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Super Crazy 0.0%
(0 of 7)
Last 6 0.22 $0.42 1.93 2 3.42 5.3%
(1 of 19)
1999 0.2 $0.42 1.68 2.5 3.5 0.0%
(0 of 7)
1998 0.23 $0.43 1.56 1.5 3.00 3.7%
(1 of 27)
Longer-term data is available. The data now runs back to 1991.
A table of wrestlers who have delivered quality matches is also
online.
- The WWF has King of the Ring on 06/27/99.
- The WWF has In Your House on 07/25/99.
- Videos: I have posted something about the availability of videos. If
you missed it, I'll send it to you in e-mail upon request.
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Thanks to: Masaki Aso.
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e-mail. Don't forget to delete the leading "x" from my e-mail address;
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